Redemption
by VestaraJade
Summary: After a huge showdown with the Sith, Ben is close to death, and Allana Solo is missing. Can Vestara save them, or is she doomed to rot in a Jedi prison for crimes she hasn't commited? The third and final installment in my "Hands of Fate" trilogy.
1. Chapter 1

Luke Skywalker paced endlessly in front of the bacta tank that held his unconscious son, Ben.

Wounds, just recently stitched together, covered Ben's torso, arms, and head. A red slash stretched from his right shoulder to his left hip. A jagged gash ran from his left eye down to his chin. His arms were a painting of different cuts. His legs were the worst though. Cilghal, the Jedi healer had cast them using metal rods, but it was obvious that they had been broken and lacerated in multiple places.

What worried him most was Ben's failure to rejoin the world of the living. Cilghal had told him that the longer Ben drifted In the blackness of unconsciousness, the less chance he had of ever waking. She had said that he could remain comatose for the rest of his life. Luke pounded his fist against the wall, frustrated at his helplessness. Nothing he could do would bring his son back, He had tried every Force method he could think of to get even the smallest response out of Ben. Nothing. He could barely even feel his son in the Force, and he certainly couldn't reach him.

He had to find out how this had happened. He spun and strode out of the room, leaving the care of his son to the medical personnel.

~O~

Vestara Khai sat in her jail cell, twisting the stun cuffs around her wrists nervously. She looked up through the transpariglass wall as Jaina walked in, carrying a tray of food.

"I'm not hungry," Vestara muttered.

"Come on," Jaina coaxed. "You've got to eat something."

"Never mind that. How is Ben doing?"

Jaina sighed. "Exactly the same. No one can get the slightest response out of him."

"I could," said Vestara. "If they would let me out of this prison cell."

"You know Uncle Luke won't let that happen. Until Ben wakes up, he has no way of knowing what happened in that cave. He is still certain that this is all your fault."

Vestara pounded her fists against her legs. "But everything is pointing the other way!"

Jaina shrugged. "All he knows is that you ran away, Ben got a message from you, telling him to come meet you, and when we find you guys, he's teetering on the brink of death."

"But he's not even listening to reason! Does he really think that I'd almost kill Ben, and then bandage him up? And come with you willingly? And what about the fact that Alyah mysteriously vanishes afterwards?"

"He doesn't even think Alyah actually exists."

"What!?" Vestara spoke incredulously. "But you guys shot at Ship as he flew off!"

Jaina nodded. "We shot at Ship, not Alyah. And he's convinced that Ship only left you so he could capture Allana."

Vestara closed her eyes, as if that would make this awful situation go away.

"For what it's worth," said Jaina, "I believe you."

"Great, now if you could just convince your _Morastka_ of an uncle, then maybe I could get out of these." She rattled her stun-cuffs meaningfully.

"I'm guessing _Moratska_ isn't a good thing."

"It's _Morastka_. A thick, slow bovine creature the Keshiri slaughter for meat."

"Uncle Luke usually listens to reason, it's just that he's emotionally tied to this."

Someone cleared their throat, and both of them whirled to face the door, where Luke stood leaning against the frame.

"Sorry to interrupt your lovely moment. Jaina, I think your mother wants you."

Shooting an apologetic look at Vestara, Jaina left the room, avoiding her uncle's gaze.

"Now," said Luke as he pulled a chair over to the bars, "let's talk. Tell me everything."

Vestara rasied her eyebrows, determined not to show that she was scared. "Again. I didn't know you liked story-time so much."

A vein bulged in Luke's forehead, but his voice was calm. "Look, I'm just trying to find out what happened."

"Well, I've already told you three times, I don't know what else you want to hear."

"I'm glad you're sticking to your story. But until Ben wakes up, I can't be sure you're telling me the truth."

"Well," she said, "if you got rid of the Ysalamiri in this room, you could probably sense it. Or better yet, you could let me go see Ben, and I'll try to wake him up."

Luke folded his hands in front of his chin and stared into her eyes with his piercing blue gaze.

"That sounds an awful lot like you're trying to get out of the Ysalamiri. And then escape. Now, the story again, if you don't mind."

Vestara rolled her eyes. "Well, one day I met Karick. You know, the dead body your brother-in-law saw in the cave?"

"The one who Ben probably killed before you overpowered him.?"

"Yes, him." Her tone was condescending. "Anyway, I met him and he knocked me unconscious..."

~O~

"And then can we go see in the the galaxy's largest singularity cluster? And after that the Kathol Rift? And could we go to the Maw? Are you good enough to fly in the Maw? My Granpa says Kyp Durron once flew through there without any charts, and he didn't even die! Could you do that, huh?"

Alyah sighed. "Yes, I'm sure I could, Allana. I think I have an even greater understanding of the Force than Kyp Durron." Allana had prattled on almost endlessly since they, she and ship, had brought her aboard.

"And could we see the Medusa Cascade? And go down the galaxy's longest slide? That's in the corporate sector. I've always wanted to go there, but my mother and my granparents never have tie to take me."

Alyah smile brightly. "Exactly. They never let you have any fun. But we're going to take you places _you_ want to go. And we'll teach you stuff, too. Stuff your mother thinks you're too young to know."

Allana nodded eagerly. " I'm old enough to know anything." Her voice took on a hushed tone. "I even know where babies come from."

Alyah groaned inwardly. "Really? You are so mature, Allana."

"I know," she said, grinning. "Now, will you tell me?"

"Well, you know all about your father, right?"

Allana suddenly turned solemn. "He was a very bad man. He killed people."

"See? Now who told you that?"

"My mom."

"Exactly. She doesn't think you're old enough to know the truth."

"What truth?"

Alyah looked around, as though someone might be listening. "Your father did the right thing. He was trying to make the galaxy a better place."

"By killing people?" She was skeptical now.

"Your father did what he had to so you could be safe. And after all that, his own sister killed him. She killed him, even though he was doing the right thing. Now, who do you think was worse?"

"Bu-but, Auntie Jaina-"

"Killed her own brother. That's what happens when you're a Jedi. You kill your own family. Did you know your Great-Uncle-Luke killed his father?"

Allana nodded, her eyes wide. "But he said-"

"He lied. I'm so sorry, Allana, but your family and friends have been lying to you from the minute you could understand them."

The girls eyes were filling with tears. Alyah pulled her into her lap and hugged her. "It's okay, sweetie. _I'm_ your family now. And I'll never, ever lie to you."

As Allana sobbed in her arms, she heard Ship speaking to her.

_Well done. I cannot wait to see the Jedi shatter when this precious young one denounces them and claims the Dark Side as her own._

~O~

"Is there any news of my daughter?" The anxious voice of Tenel Ka, Queen Mother of the Hapes Cluster emanated from the Academy's slightly dilapidated holocomm system.

Leia grimaced. "I'm afraid we still have nothing. Han and Jag have swept the planet where they last saw her three times over. Which means we can only conclude that she was indeed taken by Ship."

"I see. What will this 'Ship' do to her?"

Leia sighed. "To be honest, we just don't know. Have you felt anything through the Force?"

"I have not felt her death, if that is what you were asking. But neither can I feel her life. She is closed off to me. However, I am confident that I would feel if anything bad happened to her."

Leia looked up as Jaina entered the room, her face questioning. "Queen Mother," Leia said to Tenel Ka, "we are doing everything in our power to get Allana back. I know neither Han nor I will rest until she is back in your arms."

"Thank you. That is...reassuring. Good luck, and may the Force be with you." The Queen paused. "May it be with us all." With that, she signed off.

Leia rubbed her eyes and sighed again. True to her word, she had not slept since her husband had returned fifty-three hours ago, bringing nothing but bad news.

"Mom?" Said Jaina. "I heard what you just said to Tenel Ka, but you're not going to be any use unless you get some sleep."

"I know. I'm going now. Let me know if _anything_ happens."

"If a ladar bird flutters it's wings on the other side of the planet," Jaina joked, "you'll be the first to know."

Leia didn't even smile.

~O~

A few hours later, Jaina was still sitting in front of the comms, now holding a sleeping Davin. Holding her baby boy, she could suddenly see how Luke felt. When Davin had been stolen, she had almost been driven crazy by sadness and worry. How much worse it must be to have your child horrendously injured, and not be able to do a thing about it. Jaina thought, not for the first time, that maybe the Jedi of the Old Republic were right to do away with marriage and children.

If Davin's life were on the, line, weighing against a hundred innocent people, Jaina knew she would choose her son. And that was the problem she was struggling to find a solution to. Luke was putting his love for Ben, his absolute refusal to lose another member of his family, up against his logic. And Ben was winning.

Jaina stood, she knew what she had to do. Leaving Davin in the capable hands of his nanny droid, she snuck through the silent academy towards Vestara's cell.

~O~

Vestara lay on the thin cot in her prison, pretending to sleep. Suddenly, she heard the door at the end of the hall whoosh open. Tensing, her mind raced as she tried to figure out who would be visiting her this late.

"Psst!" She heard a whisper. "You up?"

Recognizing Jaina's voice, she rolled over to face her. "How could I sleep?"

"That's what I thought. Honest answer time. Do you really think you can wake Ben up?"

Vestara nodded, certainty in her eyes.

The clear door to her cell retracted into the ceiling. "Are you serious?" She asked with trepidation.

Jaina shrugged. "just don't try to escape, and don't tell my uncle. Oh, and I'm not taking off the cuffs."

"Fine by me. Can we go see Ben now?"

~O~

Vestara and Jaina tiptoed into the medical ward and crept into Ben's room. Vestara went straight for the bacta tank, pressing her hand up against it as she stared with horror at the wounds that criss-crossed her boyfriend's body.

"I didn't think they were that bad," she whispered.

Jaina just nodded.

_Focus. _Vestara said to herself.

She reached out with the Force, searching for some hint that Ben was in there somewhere, that she wasn't just looking at an empty body, a husk that once was living.

~O~

He was in the darkness. No, he was the darkness. He encompassed it, and it him. His thoughts were scattered, floating in the black, never able to come together in one place long enough to make sense. He knew nothing else, had no memory, he just was. But then something tugged at the edges, threatening to pull back the dark, and let in the light. This was bad. The light hurt, and he very much wanted to avoid it. He tried to ignore the tugging, to see if it would go away if he gave it no attention. But it was persistent. He had to fight. He had to strike back.

~O~

Jaina watched as Vestara, brow furrowed in concentration, stood with both hands pressed against the side of the tank. Without any warning the girl collapsed to the floor, still keeping her hands on the tank. Jaina rushed to her and knelt alongside, lending her strength through the Force. Vestara was shaking with the effort, and sweat was glistening on her forehead.

Something had gone wrong, Jaina knew it, but there was nothing she could do but give the girl her power.

~O~

Vestara was lost, trapped in a nightmare world, where everything was darkness, and darkness was everything. At first it seemed that she would be able to push the dark away and find Ben somewhere, but then everything changed, and the darkness attacked. It overwhelmed her, choking her as she struggled against it's black power. Seconds later, or maybe years, she began to fade, started to forget who she was. But then she snapped back. The light filled her again, and she found the strength to fight back once again. Somewhere she could feel Jaina, helping her. She pushed the dark back farther and farther, searching all the while for Ben.

~O~

He-Ben? He didn't know, didn't understand. The light was winning, getting closer and closer. It would find him soon, and there was nothing he could do about it. Suddenly, agony washed over him. Everything came flooding back. Who he was, what had happened, and over it all the pain. Searing through him, every nerve-ending groaning with the hurt.

And yet he felt joy. He was alive. And Vestara was near him. He saw now that it was she who had rescued him, pushed back the dark. Someone else was there too, someone familiar. At last, he opened his eyes, surrendering himself completely to the world of the living.

~O~

Vestara let go off the tank and collapsed to the floor, completely spent.

Vaguely she heard Jaina asking if she was okay, but all she could do was nod slightly. She just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. Pulling Ben from the black that surrounded his mind, _was_ his mind, had taken all of her energy. Ben. She sat up, all exhaustion forgotten. She found herself staring into the blue eyes she had never thought she'd see again. Though the rest of his face was hidden behind the breathing mask, she knew he was smiling at her. She grinned back.

"So," his voice, filled with pain, crackled from the speaker on the wall, "what'd I miss?"

With those words, Vestara knew everything would be all right.


	2. Chapter 2

~O~

The next morning, Vestara lay once more on the ratty cot in her cell. As soon as Ben was up, Jaina had half-dragged, half-carried Vestara back to the prison ward. Vestara hadn't wanted to leave Ben, but Jaina had wisely pointed out that someone was monitoring his vitals, and probably would've noticed that he had woken. After quickly telling Ben that they had never been there, they returned to her cell, and she had immediately fallen asleep.

Her door opened, and she turned over to see a furry Jenet in Jedi robes.

"Whaddayouwant?" She mumbled sleepily. The Jenet cautiously walked over and undid her stun cuffs. Vestara feigned surprise. "What?"

"Master Skywalker says you're free to go." The Jenet's tone was icy, making Vestara remember that she wasn't exactly the most popular person at the academy.

As soon as she was out of the prison ward, she retraced her steps from last night until she was in front of the door to Ben's room. After hesitating for only a moment she thumbed the keypad, and the door slid open.

There were already a lot of beings crowded into the small room. Jaina and her mom were there with Davin, Master Skywalker of course, A few of Ben's friends from around the academy, Cilghal, Tekli, and a medical droid, the three of whom were crowded around the bacta tank, reading signals and checking vitals. Silence fell upon the room when she entered, but Jaina smiled and scooted over a bit so Vestara could sit next to her on the bed.

She looked eagerly at Ben, who had been talking to his father. He winked back at her, the scar on his face making it look like a spasm. For a brief moment, she was repulsed. All her childhood she had been taught that physical deformities, like scars, were to be loathed. That was one of the reasons she had hated the scar near her upper lip. But she was beyond that now. Scars were scars, and nothing more.

The conversation in the room, mainly involving what Cilghal was calling Ben's "Imminent recovery", continued as before, but Vestara was content to just sit. She was having a much more private conversation, one that involved less words, more sensations and feelings.

Ben's pain was like a knife aching in her gut, and that was with him dimming it, so he wouldn't hurt her. He was apologetic, too. His dad had told him how she had been treated, and he wasn't happy. There was something else, too, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Cilghal suddenly straightened from her work, and began shooing people from the room.

"My patient needs quiet and rest," she said in her burbling voice. "He will get neither with this ceaseless prattle!"

As they filed from the room, she felt someone grab her arm gently. She turned and found herself staring into Master Skywalker's eyes. "We need to talk," he said and headed down the hallway. He led her to a door and outside into the jungle. It was a drizzly, humid day.

_Uh-oh, _she thought._ He found out what I did last night._

"Jaina told me what you did last night-"

_Shaka._

"-and I wanted to thank you. And to apologize. If I had believed you, this would've been much easier for everyone."

Vestara felt very awkward. Having someone as famous and important as Master Skywalker apologizing to her just felt weird.

"I-it's okay. You were just worried for Ben."

"As were you. And I'm not just talking about today. I agreed to let you come here, but I never really trusted you. I was always ready to believe the worst of you, and when you vanished I jumped to conclusions. If I hadn't, Ben might not be like this right now. So I want to apologize. I treated you unfairly, not even giving you a second chance."

"I forgive you, Master Skywalker."

"Thank you. Now, as to your training. I know how much you love galactic history class-"

Vestara groaned inwardly. She hated galactic history with a passion. It was just a bunch of boring dates and boring names of boring people doing boring things.

"-but I'm afraid you're going to have to skip the rest of that, because I want you to apprentice under a master."

Vestara couldn't believe her ears. Apprentice, already? "That's very kind, Master, but I don't quite think I'm ready yet."

Luke looked puzzled. "Why not? You're a well-trained swordswoman, you have an excellent mastery of the Force, and Ben told me you killed his torturer without a hint of anger in your mind. So tell me, what left do you have to learn? More boring dates?" There was a twinkle in his eyes as he said this, and Vestara wondered, not for the first time, if he could read her mind. He smiled and whispered, "I hate it too." As he walked away, he said over his shoulder, "Give some thought to which master you'd like to help you."

But Vestara already knew who she wanted to teach her.

~O~

Alyah sighed as Allana stirred in her sleep. _Almost time for another history lesson._

_Patience. _Ship's voice rumbled through her mind._ Something else troubles you, young one._

_Yes. _She admitted. _It's Karick._

_He is dead, as you well know. _

_Yes, but that's just it! I don't care. I don't feel anything. Should I?_

Ship was disapproving. _Those are the thoughts of a Jedi. You are no Jedi. _

_But shouldn't I miss him? _She asked. _He was my companion, after all._

_Karick was a useful asset, but do not mourn him. He played his part, and now we have no need of him. _

Alyah was shocked. _Is that all we are to you?! Assets? When will _my_ usefulness expire?_

_You are different. Karick was a good fighter, but sadly lacking in brains. You, on the other hand, are not only strong in the Force, but also clever. A good tactician, and excellent at manipulating people. _

Alyah snorted. _Yeah, nine-year-old girls. I must be such a genius._

"Alyah? Are we almost there yet?" The young girl's sleepy voice rose from the rear of the small sphere.

"Yes. Would you like to hear a story, Sweetie?"

Allana nodded.

"All right. Once upon a time there was a man called Palpatine. He was a good man, but the Jedi wanted to kill him, so he had to protect himself. Even though it hurt him deeply, he had no choice but to kill all the Jedi, except for a few. One was your great-grandfather, Darth Vader..."

~O~

In a little tavern on the backwater planet of Selvaris, which was once once a world used to hold prisoners of the Yuuzhan Vong, a man leaned against a support pillar, watching a high-stakes game of Sabaac. Two humans, a bith, and a creature of some sorts that had never removed it's cloak sat around the table.

"I believe the round goesss to mee," the creature hissed airily from under it's hood.

"Again," grumbled one of the humans, an older man with graying hair that was once brown.

"Sssskill my dear child. Sssskill."

"Child!?" The human was indignant.

"I have lived for three human life cyclessss, and while I am still a young one of my people, I was born before your grandfather. Now. The price mussssst be paid. I will ask the question, and someone must give me the answer."

The other around the table grumbled. "At least we're not playing for credits," said the bith.

"My first quesssstion is thisssss. Have any of you heard tale of an orange, ssssspherical ship? It is of much interest to my people."

There were a few moments of silence around the table. Finally the other human, who had kept mostly quiet, spoke.

"I have heard of such a thing," she said. "I believe it gave quite a scare around Commenor. Idiots thought it was the Yuuzhan Vong again. As if they hadn't learned their lesson."

"Thank you for your information. I will take my leave of the game now."

"Hold on 'buddy'," growled the human male. "You can't just leave."

"My people now have the information I sssssought."

"Yeah, and who exactly are 'your people'?" He reached for the creatures hood. It hissed in horror.

"Too remove the hood of a sssssshadow one is punissssshable by death! Do not bring such a fate upon yourself!" The human paused, taken aback. That was all the time the creature needed. In a flash it had vanished into the crowd of unruly bar patrons. The man who had been watching the game was gone too.

~O~

Jag caught up with Han as he was pulling the voice synthesizer out of his mouth. "Shadow one? Really? And have you honestly lived for three human life cycles?"

Han whipped off his hood and ran his fingers through his hair. "Sure feels like it sometimes. Doesn't matter how I got it, what matters is that I now have the information I need."

"You mean the fact that Ship was spotted at some point, in some random system, sometime since the Vong war. I don't see how we're going to catch it."

"Well," said Han, "she said it gave them a scare, maybe we can talk to some locals, get a bigger picture."

"Okay. But this time I get to play Sabaac."

Han laughed. "You? You wouldn't recognize a triple run if it held you at blasterpoint. Leave it to the pros, Kid."

~O~

"Master Solo?" Asked Vestara, hurrying to catch up with the fast-moving Jedi.

Jaina smiled. "So now it's 'Master Solo', huh? What do you need?"

"Well, it's just that, well, I was talking to Master Skywalker, and, um-"

"Spit it out, Vestara. I need to get back to Davin."

Vestara crossed her fingers and spoke hurriedly, "CanIpleasebeyourapprentice?"

That stopped Jaina in her tracks. "What? You want to be my apprentice?"

"Um, yeah," she said nervously. "Master Skywalker said I needed to find a master to teach me, but if you don't want to, that's fine, I'll just ask, uh, someone else."

Jaina was looking at her with a perplexed expression on her face. "It's not that I don't want to teach you, it's just that I don't think you should be taught by me. I'm not really doing any Jedi work right now, what with having a baby and all. I'm not sure you'd be learning that much."

"Oh." Vestara said. "I didn't even think about that. But who else could I ask?"

Jaina's mind was racing through various possibilities, but none of them seemed like they would be a good fit for the girl. She couldn't think of a single master who would take Vestara in without any hesitation. Except herself. She sighed.

"If you don't mind changing a few diapers, I'll be more than happy to help you."

A grin spread itself across Vestara's face. After babbling a quick thank you, she raced off, no doubt to go see Ben again.

Jaina chuckled as she watched the girl hurry off.

~O~

Han banged on the side of his beloved _Falcon_, the frustration beginning to show in his eyes. He had been trying for ten minutes to get the boarding ramp down, but to no avail. It was stuck fast, probably due to some faulty mechanism in the ancient ship. After letting loose a few choice curses, he turned to Jag, who had been quiet so far.

"I don't suppose you can tell me why I can't get into my ship," Han growled.

Jag stepped forward and proceeded to examine every inch of the boarding ramp and surrounding area. After a few minutes, he shrugged.

"Nothing looks out of place. It should open perfectly."

"And yet, it isn't." Han kicked the landing strut and cursed again.

They both jumped slightly as a voice sounded from behind them. "It's not working because I don't want it to be working."

Han and Jag turned to see the man who had complained of losing the game of Sabaac, back in the bar.

"Yeah?" said Han belligerently, "and who are you to keep me out of my ship?"

"I think I'm the one who should be asking the questions. For example, what is Han Solo doing on a backwater planet like Selvaris? Why is he looking for Vong-like ship?" The man pulled out a blaster and aimed it at Jag. "And unless you want your son-in-law to die an very soon, I better start getting some answers."

~O~


End file.
